WVSU Extension Service Hosting Alternative Agriculture Workshops in McDowell County

WVSU Extension Service Hosting Alternative Agriculture Workshops in McDowell County

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) Extension Service will present a free series of workshops to help beginning and experienced gardeners learn a variety of alternative agriculture techniques on Wednesday, March 9, at the National Guard Armory in Welch, W.Va.

The workshops will include sessions on alternatives to traditional gardening such as hydroponics, a soilless growing method, as well as the AgrAbility program, which showcases agricultural techniques for individuals with disabilities.

“We are excited to expand our agricultural education outreach efforts to include more alternative methods,” said Melissa Stewart, assistant program director of WVSU Extension Service. “We will be covering a variety of topics that will open up both new and existing gardeners to some interesting growing methods, management practices and crop options.”

The full schedule is as follows.

10 a.m. – Mushroom Production

11 a.m. - Aquaponics

1 p.m. - AgrAbility

2 p.m. – Hydroponics

3 p.m. – Cold Storage

WVSU Extension Service is partnering with the West Virginia National Guard’s Patriot Guardens program to host the series, made possible by a West Virginia Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant and by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher Program.

West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi‐generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.